Wednesday is shopping day.
Basket and bags at the ready off we go
to see the friendly retailers of Bacup.
As you’ve heard me banging on and on for months
about these lovely folk we thought it’d be a nice idea
to introduce them to you, and as you can see everyone
was happy to oblige.
First up here’s John the fishmonger.
He has the best Scottish salmon for miles.
There’s always a chat about football and the state of things.
Watching butcher Peter carving and prepping his produce is
like watching an artist at work. Mum wanted a piece of lamb this week
to put in her slow cooker. We don’t eat lamb so I hadn’t a clue what to ask for.
Peter soon had me sorted with a nice cut along with two chicken fillets and
half pound of minced steak for a cottage pie later in the week.
There’s always plenty of happy banter to be had and a few recipe ideas.
We need plenty of bags when we get round to greengrocer Kevin’s stall.
His stock of fruit and vegetables is always top notch. So fresh and tasty.
I mean really, surely a carrot is a carrot wherever you buy it.
Well no it’s not. Every meal time we comment how much we enjoy
our veggies.
Philip has eaten fresh fruit salad for his lunch every day for more years
than I care to remember. He makes up a large Tupperware box of chopped
pineapple, oranges and grapes.
Don’t be fooled by his healthy fruit box he’s a succour
for the gorgeous creations from the lovely couple at Patisserie Chanel
Every week he buys at least two of their delightful bakes.
This week it was two raspberry cheesecakes and a pear frangipani tartlet.
There’s a warm welcome and a takeaway coffee to be had at
Ye Old’e Hillybilly Bakery as well a really good range of vegan,
vegetarian pies and cakes and more traditional bakes.
The market shopping gets put in the car and next up it’s a stroll
round the corner to see the lovely friendly ladies In Manning’s Bakery.
It’s impossible to come away without buying a piece of vanilla sponge,
an almond slice and a paradise slice. My favourite is a big wedge of spice cake
topped with icing. It’s a wonder we are not fat and full of spots.
We buy fresh sandwiches that are so big they do us twice.
Half for lunch when we get home and the other half for tea with a piece of cake.
Most weeks we buy a take out soup to warm us on the way home.
We love shopping in Bacup, everyone is so friendly.
It’ll be even better when lockdown ends and the rest of the market stalls
and shops reopen.
I’ve become friendly on Instagram with The Beauty Culture girls
and I fully intend on paying them a visit when they reopen.
I miss going into Wishes Galore card and gift shop, a regular stop off
for me on our weekly outing and a chance for a natter with the family
who own it and take bookings for our local theatre. There’s a good
line up of shows when we are allowed back there. So plenty of
good things to look forward to.
Look at this happy face.
He knows once the shopping is sorted and sanitised
he will have his feet up for the afternoon and a belly
full of good food.
So that was Wednesday folks.
A new series of The Repair Shop on BBC1 followed
by The Bay on ITV and that was a good day all round.
Take care
Lynn
x
Just heard that our monthly Farmer's Market in the next town to me, which would have been this Saturday has been cancelled. Apparently, last month people complained about it being held because it encouraged folks to be too close together and there weren't enough volunteers to marshal them properly. Such a pity because the fruit and veg from a Farmer's stall is much preferable to buying it at the supermarkets. All the other shops in town are closed with big posters up giving the reason why. It's all quite dystopian to me. Your haul looks delish. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame about the Farmers Market. Let’s hope with spring on it’s way and vaccinations rolling out that we can all support our local shops soon xx
DeleteWhat a lovely post, it's lovely to see your market and the friendly stallholders!
ReplyDeleteI so miss buying our fruit and veg from the market and having a laugh and a joke with the traders, it was the only time I ever went food shopping, haven't done it for a year!
Loving both your coats, you stylish pair! xxx
We look forward to our shopping trip every week. Can’t say I’d be thinking that about a supermarket shop. It would be gawd let’s get it over with.
DeleteI got my coat at the vintage fair you and Jon did at Victoria Baths xxx
It was a treat to accompany you two to Bacup market and meet those friendly traders. We have a Saturday market, but it rather pales in comparison. And oh my, aren't you stylish shoppers! With your talk of cakes I suddenly have a craving for something sweet, though :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteIt’s become a lovely way to do our weekly shop Ann. We get to buy lovely produce and have a nice chat with some fabulous folk. And then of course there’s cake haha xxx
DeleteOh Lynn what a special post. I didn't get the chance to read it yesterday so I'm playing catch up today. You are truly blessed to have such a lovely local market full of lovely folk to visit....I really enjoyed visiting them with you so thanks for sharing your visit with us.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Annie
ps I presume you mean Milly not Tilly on my post :-)
Haha I did. Blame it on my fat fingers and give darling Milly a hug from me xxx
DeleteThe market looks like a great place - you are lucky to have it nearby! Thank you for introducing us to the traders. Liz
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a godsend to us Liz and one we will continue to use when we get past all of this xx
DeleteThere's nothing nicer than a good market and the stall holders look friendly too. Have a lovely safe weekend and happy crafting. Angela xXx
ReplyDeleteIt’s a pure joy going there Angela x
DeleteWhat a fantastic market - all those lovely traders. It must be hard not to get carried away with all that lovely produce. We have a small indoor market in the town a few miles from us which, when lockdown is over, I am going to thoroughly explore. Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe come home with full bags and baskets every week x
DeleteI loved your post and the thing that made it so delightful was seeing all the smiles without masks. I miss seeing people smile.
ReplyDeleteThat’s the joy of outdoor market shopping Connie, although we do have our masks on x
DeleteAwesome article guys :)
ReplyDeleteIv only livedcin bacuo for about 18 months, iv not been to the market yet even tho im only 10 min walk away on maden rd, iv come across your blogs and would just like to say how they took me back to my childhood, going shopping in wales where i lived with my grandad, using all local shops and knowing everyone, having a chat. Ill defenatly be visiting bacup market soon, your blogs are very well written and appriciated.
ReplyDelete